Bloomfield man sentenced to 50 years for Montclair slaying

A Bloomfield man was sentenced to 50 years in prison Thursday for the murder of his wife at her Montclair home.

Khalid Khan of Bloomfield during an appearance in New Jersey Superior Court in Newark in September 2013.

Khalid Khan must serve 42 years of that sentence before being eligible for parole in the July 2011 slaying of 31-year-old Shazmina Khan, said Essex County Prosecutor's Office spokesperson Kathy Carter.

After few hours of deliberations last October, a jury found Khalid Khan guilty of first-degree murder and weapons charges at his estranged wife's Wheeler Street apartment. The jury further found him guilty of endangering the welfare of his child, Samara, whom he had with Shazmina. Samara was 8 years old and asleep in a nearby bedroom at the time of the slaying.

Shazmina Khan's body was discovered the morning of July 4, 2011, in her bathtub. She had been slashed across her throat three times and stabbed six times, according to testimony in Superior Court in Newark. Khalid sliced tendons in Shazmina's arms, preventing her ability to defend herself during the attack, Assistant Prosecutor Rachel Gran said in closing arguments of the case.

Khalid faced 30 years to life in New Jersey State Prison.

Closing arguments by Gran described the couple's numerous domestic squabbles. After the couple separated and Shazmina was living with Samara in their second-floor apartment on Wheeler Street, Shazmina was moving on with her life, a life that included romantic interests in other men whom Khalid didn't like, Gran said.

Khalid told investigators he had completely blanked out for the first time in his 42 years, and had no idea where he was or what he did until showing up unexpectedly at his girlfriend's Bloomfield house after the stabbing, authorities said.

Bloomfield man sentenced to 50 years for Montclair slaying

Khalid Khan of Bloomfield during an appearance in New Jersey Superior Court in Newark in September 2013.

Khalid Khan must serve 42 years of that sentence before being eligible for parole in the July 2011 slaying of 31-year-old Shazmina Khan, said Essex County Prosecutor's Office spokesperson Kathy Carter.

After few hours of deliberations last October, a jury found Khalid Khan guilty of first-degree murder and weapons charges at his estranged wife's Wheeler Street apartment. The jury further found him guilty of endangering the welfare of his child, Samara, whom he had with Shazmina. Samara was 8 years old and asleep in a nearby bedroom at the time of the slaying.

Shazmina Khan's body was discovered the morning of July 4, 2011, in her bathtub. She had been slashed across her throat three times and stabbed six times, according to testimony in Superior Court in Newark. Khalid sliced tendons in Shazmina's arms, preventing her ability to defend herself during the attack, Assistant Prosecutor Rachel Gran said in closing arguments of the case.

Khalid faced 30 years to life in New Jersey State Prison.

Closing arguments by Gran described the couple's numerous domestic squabbles. After the couple separated and Shazmina was living with Samara in their second-floor apartment on Wheeler Street, Shazmina was moving on with her life, a life that included romantic interests in other men whom Khalid didn't like, Gran said.

Khalid told investigators he had completely blanked out for the first time in his 42 years, and had no idea where he was or what he did until showing up unexpectedly at his girlfriend's Bloomfield house after the stabbing, authorities said.